The origin of the Ease Supper Club, and its continued stroll into the heart of the local food scene, is rooted in community. Located in North Little Rock’s Park Hill neighborhood, this perpetually sold-out culinary experience began with a friendship on Twitter.
As a lifelong cook, Ease founder Erika Ross Gee connected with a “little group of foodie people” on the social media platform. Her circle grew to include local food writer Kevin Shalin, better known as The Mighty Rib. During the course of their fateful food-centric friendship, Shalin shifted from online follower to staple guest at Gee’s dinner parties.
“I’ve cooked for him many times,” Gee says. “And one time he said, ‘I would really like to see you get to cook for people on a larger scale. What do you want to do, and how can I help?’”
Shalin’s question, posed in December 2022, came at just the right time.
Gee, a partner at Wright Lindsey Jennings, is a government relations attorney. But like many in 2020, she found herself working from home.
“I had time to really cook the way I like to cook,” says Gee, who followed her interests as she explored cooking techniques, different cuisines and even tended a kitchen garden. “[Cooking] is something that I have always found really satisfying — that creative process and making something that pleases the people who eat it.”
So, after two years of focused study and an encouraging nudge from a friend, Gee was ready to share her cooking in a new way, and she eventually landed on a supper club. Supper clubs, for the uninitiated, are traditionally ticketed events with a set menu. From the beginning, Gee wanted to infuse her club with its namesake theme: ease. For her guests, this translates to an intimate evening devoted to food and conversation.
With a vision in place, Gee’s first supper club took place in January 2023. She planned the menu, refined the recipes and had to learn how to scale her cooking for 16 guests. Her friends and family were looped in as servers and dish washers, and Shalin’s job was to round up the attendees.
“He sprung it on me that everyone who was coming was a stranger to me because he felt like I needed to know how it felt to cook for strangers.”
And he was right. For Gee, it was an inspiring experience.
Since then, her supper clubs have grown in frequency and popularity, and, after moving into a quaint brick-and-mortar space earlier this year, Gee has hosted her supper club twice a month. Now, the creativity that drove her cooking during the pandemic continues to steer her toward fresh recipes and ingredients as she plans her next theme. She lets seasonal produce, interesting cuisines and even the weather guide her menus.
Last summer, one of her themes was “Arkansas Summers in the Caribbean,” and the menu featured a dish that was both surprising and one of her most popular.
“I was originally going to do a tomato corn pie that used Esau corn,” she admits, but a texture issue inspired an unexpected garnish instead: corn-infused buttermilk ice cream. She offered guests a new spin on tomatoes and corn with a whimsical look that mimicked cherry pie with a scoop of ice cream.
And while the food may be the star of the show, the community is a standout feature of Ease, where guests can expect communal seating and family-style service when possible.
“We want to give people a place where you can come and have an experience together. I’ve found that a lot of my guests are a little bit hesitant, but it ends up being their favorite thing.”
Even Gee was nervous at first.
“I used to give people a prompt to talk about, which was fun, but I found very quickly that people didn’t need it,” she says. “You already have something to talk about: You can talk about the food, about the wine. It gives you a really easy way into developing a relationship.”
People have reconnected with neighbors from decades ago and even long-lost cousins around her supper club tables.
Keeping with the familial, Gee describes the newly opened Ease Bistro as “the more casual, more relaxed cousin to the supper club.” Currently open every Friday evening, the bistro serves seasonal small plates, shareables, desserts and an eclectic wine list. But there’s still a focus on connection.
“It’s a good place to catch up with your friend or the small group that you actually want to be able to hear,” Gee says.
Thoughtful details set the “come in and stay a while” tone for the cottage-like space decked in vintage tables, cloth napkins and mini salt and pepper shakers that are nothing short of adorable.
Ease Super Club and Bistro fans have a lot to look forward to as Gee plans for a supper club series, perfect for repeat guests, as well as Wine Wednesdays and Saturday brunch for the bistro.
Until then, she’ll be working up an appetite for local flavor on West B Avenue.
Learn more at easesupper.club.
